


Renew and Recover

by Cy_the_sandwich



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Court of Owls, Dick Grayson is a Good Brother, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt Jason Todd, Hurt Tim Drake, I hate Ra's, Leslie is doing her best, Seriously Ra's can you just leave, Talons, Tim is really confused, poor Tim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 20:05:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18483427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cy_the_sandwich/pseuds/Cy_the_sandwich
Summary: Ra's al Guhl has plans for one Timothy Drake, most of them include getting him to join the league. The rest of the bats aren't having any of it, so when Tim disappears one day they try and save him. Of course it gets that much harder when Ra's almost kills Tim.





	1. You think you've won, but its only just begun

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my first fic that i've posted, so I i'm hoping for the best. Feel free to tell me about any mistakes. And also i'm not good at summaries. (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ have a good read!

“Hello Detective.” A figure stood on a platform shrouded in shadow. Even if Bruce couldn’t see him, he could recognize that voice from anywhere. 

“Ra’s.” Next to the demons head chained to the ceiling was Tim. His shirt was in shambles and his mask was gone, usually pale features were now covered in the thick red of blood. Bruce grit his teeth at the sight of his third son. He had disappeared on patrol one night, their search had ended when Alfred walked out of Tim's room holding a letter marked with Ra’s handwriting. One also stained with Tim's blood. It took them almost a week to find him, and Bruce was expecting his son to be in a worse state than he was. Now looking at the boy he realized Tim looked better than expected, meaning he wasn’t dead. 

Next to him Nightwing spoke up, 

“What did you do to him Ra’s?” His words were laced with a rage and worry that was only present when it came to his family. Ra’s smirked not saying anything as he swung Tim around for them to see. From behind Bruce heard a small gasp from Jason, even the slightest hitch of breath from Damian. He almost growled at the man standing before him. The source of the blood covering Tim were many lashes that covered his back. Bruce was only able to count twenty before his son was turned back around. 

“If it helps, I can tell you that's the worst pain he’s gone through. I still hold my respect for the boy, I wouldn’t want him to die.” Something in Ra’s tone betrayed his words. Damian gave a small growl, clearly seeing through his grandfather’s words. 

“If you expect us to believe that grandfather then you’re a fool.” The young boy glared at Ra’s not looking away even when he was given a harder one back.

“I would watch your tone boy, you wouldn’t want someone to get hurt, would you?” A small motion of his hand and more than thirty assassins were now surrounding them. Bruce looked around at them, knowing there was no way to fight them off, and get Tim out of there without someone getting hurt. There were just to many. A small chuckle from the Demons head brought his attention back on the matter at hand. 

“Now it seems you’ve realized the situation you’re in Detective,” Out of his robes comes a sword, one even longer than Damian. “you could surrender to me, and be given a free walk out of here, without Timothy of course, I still might have use for him,” Ra’s gave the boy a seductive glare, and they decided at that moment there was no way the kid was staying here. “or you can try and fight off my assassins, and save Timothy.”

Jason was the first to rush the assassins behind him, not even caring what choice the other bats would make. It didn’t matter though because Nightwing and Robin were fighting right alongside him. Batman make a beeline straight toward Ra’s, taking down anyone who got in his way.

“I did hope you would let Timothy live, but it seems I have no choice now.” The man had stepped up to fight him, but now turned back to face the hurt Vigilante. 

“Ra’s wha-” It was too late for him to ask the question because suddenly Ra’s blade was plunging through Tim's stomach. It seemed as if the entire fight came to a stand still, and dimly Batman knew it did. From behind he could hear Nightwing scream out for his brother, abruptly cutting off when Tim coughed up blood; the first movement any of them had seen him make since their arrival. Dim blue eyes looked up at them, fear and pain being shown freely to all there. Then determination. 

Without pause Tim kicked out the demon heads legs, the man falling to the ground. Bruce took the opportunity, forgetting the fight behind him and rushing Ra’s, knocking him unconscious before he even had a chance to stand. Bruce rushed to Tim cowl forgotten as he unchained the now limp bird. 

“Tim? Tim can you hear me?” The fighting had died down now, the rest of the brothers running to check on the second-youngest. 

“Hey Babybird, you with us?” 

“-tt- Come on Drake, you’re not this weak are you?”

“I’m gonna kill you if you die replacement.”

The only answer they got was a pained groan, Tim's pulse becoming weaker.

“Call Leslie. Now.” Bruce picked up his son, carrying him bridle style as fast as he could to the Batmobile.


	2. The hero, or the failure?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim is hurt and confused, and Leslie's trying to save his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! another chapter!!  
> Im doing my notes at the end this time, you might be interested if you wanna know about my upload schedule!

The screeching of the Batmobile entering the cave is the first thing Tim could focus on. His back was burning from the lashes Ra’s had given him, and he couldn’t feel his stomach anymore, most likely because he was in shock. He could still feel the sword in him, it was the only thing stopping major blood loss. Still, he had lost enough blood with the lashes so he must already be out… out…

“Were losing him!” It was Leslie, when…. When had she gotten here?, “He’s lost too much blood, and he’s already in shock. Bruce, Jason I need you to get the blood bags. Alfred come help me set him up an IV.” There was bustling around him but Tim couldn’t really focus on what was going on. Not that he didn’t want to, his mind wasn’t working right at the moment. Why was that? Something to do with Ra’s? He couldn’t remember. Why couldn’t he remember? What was going on? Is everyone alright?

As his thoughts became more and more panicked, so did his breathing. The heart monitor that had already been hooked up to him started beeping frantically. For a moment the entire room seemed to pause as his breaths became faster and faster. Then the sound was back, more yelling, and a light. It shone in his eyes almost painfully. Tim tried to raise his hand to shove it away, but found that he couldn’t. It only made his panic grow. 

There was more yelling, but he could only make out bits of what was being said. 

“……Panicking………..Heart monitor………………………..Not good……….Heart could give out……….we…………..sedate him.” What? What was going on? Who was hurt? What was that sound? It was too loud, and to bright, and Tim had a sudden sense that his eyes might be a bit dilated. There was a prick in his neck and all of a sudden darkness swam in his vision. One thought escaped its clutches though. Why couldn’t he breath? It was like he was trapped under water, unable to come up for air. Every breath he took seemed to leave before it could have any affect on him. But he could still hear the noise, where ever it was, taunting him, telling him something was wrong. But what? Then suddenly there was no breath at all. And the shrieking stopped. All was quiet.  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The roar of the Batmobile was a staggering sound to Leslie's ears. Only an hour ago she had been closing up the clinic and heading home. Of course when she got a call from Oracle her early morning plans had been dropped on the spot. Now she sat in the Batcave, not really knowing what she was being brought. The bats had this weird urge to be undeniably vague over any type of communication. It had cause some trouble for them before, but this was the first time in a long time it had happened to her. Last time….. Last time she was needed for an autopsy. Hopefully this would not be the same. 

The car pulled up, and Batman, Robin, and Nightwing jumped out. Three down, two to go. Then she saw Hood climbing out the back holding the limp body of Timothy Jackson Drake. Her hopes immediately plummeted. The boy was covered in blood. Gashes from what she could one think of to be a whip coated his back. Her eyes were drawn by a flash of metal. A sword. The ripped off end of a blade was barely seen through the blood. For a second Leslie was glad the idiots at least knew something about self care. If they had pulled it out….. Then she would be doing another autopsy right now. 

Completely forgetting who she was talking to, and of her tired, aching muscles, she immediately started preparing,

“Bring him here. We need to set up a heart monitor.” Her demanding tone left no room for argument. Not that anyone would anyway, they were all to focused on their downed member. 

Tim was laid out on a surgery table, the blade thankfully leaving room for him to lie peacefully. She wanted to see how responsive he was, there might be need for some drugs. The call of Alfred needing help with the monitor brought her away, together they both got it set up and running. It showed only his slowing pulse. 

“Were losing him!” Leslie yelled, “He’s lost too much blood, and he’s already in shock. Bruce, Jason I need you to get the blood bags. Alfred come help me set him up an IV.” She worked on it, having to get rid of his tattered top to do so. The blood can be cleaned off later, and the gashes on his back can wait. They needed to focus on the stab wound. She began to inspect it, looking for a good way to remove the blade. Then the heart monitor started beeping. It started going faster, then a bit more, and then more, until it was going so fast she thought only the flash could hear it.

She really should have drugged him. “ He’s panicking, we need to stabilize him, the heart monitor shows his heart rate at 115. That’s not good, with how much blood he’s lost his heart might give out. We need to sedate him. Now”

They tried their best at that point, they really did, but Leslie wasn’t sure if they could do it, but she would damn well try. Ordering Alfred to Tim's other side she told him what he needed to do. If they got him sedated in time then he might have a chance. Leslie walked over to the heart monitor and saw it slowing, then...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations you made it to the end, as for my schedule.... There isn't one. I'm kinda just wing'n this fic because usually if i actually plan something I never end up finishing it. My evidence is that this is the first one I've actually posted and I've planned out like three.


	3. Death has its toll's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is in the aftermath of what happened, none know how to deal with it, but they might have too with the reappearance of Ra's.

With rain pouring outside Bruce sat at the foot of a small grave. His clothes had long gone sodden, but he was not ready to leave just yet. It was beginning to get dark outside, the dead branches of trees twisting in the rising moonlight. It looked almost like a horror movie, except all the scarring was done, now was just the aftermath. It might be why he felt like staying there he reasoned. If anything were to happen he rather be here when it does. The others had come by to visit him, checking to see if he was okay after all that had happened. He told him he was. He lied. 

It still hurt even after all this time. 

Sitting there at their graves reminded him of all he had already lost. And of how many times he had come close to losing someone else. It hurt knowing the danger he put his kids in. Especially when it came to Tim. The poor boy had already suffered enough with what happened to his parents, even before that too. He remembered the first time he had seen Tim flinch under their disappointed gaze. It’s what had made him such a good Robin. The wanting, the need, to succeed in everything he did. 

And now he was in the Batcave fighting for his life while Bruce sat there an sulked in the rain. 

“Master Bruce I do advise that you get out of this weather. I wouldn’t want you to get sick,” He looked up a little shocked that Alfred had snuck behind him without him noticing. But then he remembered the butler had years of practice from dealing with him and the boys. It really shouldn’t be surprised anymore. He turned back about to refuse when Alfred spoke again, “I feel it might interest you to know that Master Timothy has stabilized.” 

When he did not move Alfred leaned down whispering into his ear, “It’s alright Master Bruce. He will survive Master Timothy is a strong boy, he will not leave us.” Alfred's words did much to raise his spirits, and, with one last look at his parents graves, he stood and walked with his father-figure back to the manor.

Both men stepped inside to see most of the kids in the living room. The TV was on but it seemed that no one bothered to watch it. Instead they all sat with their eyes glazed over, staring at the ground. The only one to acknowledge his presence when he entered the room was Cassandra, a minute shake of her head telling him he was welcome. 

The children were arranged in their usual seats. Stephanie, Cass and Jason on the part of the couch facing the door to the kitchen. Damian, Duke, Dick and Kate all sat on the larger part that faced the TV. Usually Tim would either be sitting squished between Jason and Stephanie, or somewhere lying on the floor. It saddened him when he looked where his second youngest usually sat. Jason and Stephanie seemed to miss his presence too, for they had left a small space between them that would have just been large enough for their brother. 

They all sat there for a while. Bruce having made his own place on the floor by Damian and Dick. Alfred came by every so often to ask if anyone needed anything. After the first few times with no answers he had left, not coming back for a short while. When he did he came back with enough tea to quench an entire city's thirst. He wouldn’t leave until he had seen everyone in the room take at least one sip. That’s what got everyone to start moving. Dick left to go take a shower. Kate, Stephanie and Cass all left to start patrol. Damian, after some hesitation, left to go join them, saying “There is no need to waste anymore time”.

Bruce looked to Jason, expecting the boy to make up something about the outlaws needing help so he could make his own escape. Instead when he looked over at the boy he found that his gaze was being met back. Jason nodded his head, not ready to break the silence, towards Bruce’s office. They both stood making their way over. 

Once inside and the door shut Jason finally spoke,

“I found something.” he said looking down. He sounded slightly angry, and for a second Bruce worried that anger was directed at him. But when Jason made no move to start yelling, or even for hitting, he calmed down. Studying him he noticed the bags under his eyes, and the small sheen of sweat as if he had just come back from patrol. Bruce supposed he had. There were too many times that he had found Jason demolishing anything that stood near him on the training mats. His second eldest had an affinity for violence when he had nothing better to do. 

Bruce focused back in when Jason started to speak again,

“I found Ra’s plans for Tim. For what he would have done if we weren’t able to get him out in time.” Because of course Ra’s had planned for that, even though they would not have left without their broken bird. 

“I also found out that he knows where the fucking Batc--” A loud crash coming from outside the room cut off Jason’s next words. They shared a look before creeping out the door to see what was going on. 

There were leaguers in the living room and, they had Alfred at sword point. Both men were about to jump out and into action to help the butler when they heard an all too familiar voice.

“Leave him, we are here for something much more important.” 

Ra’s Al Ghul had come to get Tim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, i know this chapter took along time to get up, but i think my end product was pretty good. I'm gonna try to aim to end this in two more chapters. Might not though, so be prepared for me saying five chapters and it ends up being like twenty. :/


	4. Escape of the pretender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ra's is back and this time he's hitting home. Literally. Not only has he come to the manor, but he also reveals another part of the big picture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things you might want to know for this chapter. :)  
> 1\. Its super duper uber uooper long. So mega long. like over 2000 words long.   
> 2\. I try and keep the swear words to one per chapter so there does happen to be a B bomb in here.

From inside his study Bruce watched the assassins move around the house. They seemed to disappear every now and again, almost like they could melt into shadows. Ra’s still stood in the living room. He looked out the window, only turning ever so often when someone told him of the search. So far it seemed that none of the assassins had made it into the cave, but Bruce had a suspicion that Ra’s already knew where Tim was. Beside him Jason shifted, ready at any point to attack the intruders. There was a fury in his eyes, most likely due to the fact that Alfred was still held hostage. Bruce could tell he was waiting for a signal from him to attack, arms tense against the slightly cracked door, ready to force his way out in a hurry. 

“We need to get Ra’s alone.” Bruce told him. If there was any chance of getting out of this they needed to know Ra’s end game. Jason nodded not taking his eyes off the demons head. As the leaguers filed out of the room, sometimes evaporating into the shadows, Bruce finally found Ra’s to be unprotected. Not that he wasn’t still dangerous. 

“Move out, slowly.” He ordered. Jason listened to his advice, though he did roll his eyes, and started to silently creep open the door. It seemed a quiet entrance was not needed because all of a sudden an assassin came from around the corner and spotted them. In one swift motion three more of them were standing with swords pointed towards their faces. Both men held up their hands in surrender. 

They were led out into the living room and forced to kneel behind Ra’s. Their hands were tied with rope to keep them from fighting back. The man continued looking out at their back gardens. He stayed like that for a good ten minutes- well not good- and finally spoke up, not turning to face them,

“I respect your taste in greenery, I suppose the damage done to them is from my grandson?” Outside many of the hedges were missing chunks here and there, Damian had had a temper tantrum the other night and felt he was justified for destroying the gardeners hard work. They were not pleased. Ra’s shook his head, turning to them. From inside his robe he pulled out a pocket watch flicking it open to check the time. “Hmm… they should be here any minute, I believe we can talk then detective.”

Bruce slid the Batarang he had pulled from his sleeve back into hiding, he made sure Jason saw so the boy could do the same with his own hidden weapon.

“Them?” 

If Ra’s was working with someone it could mean disaster, and the fact that they were also coming to the manor definitely meant they wanted Tim too. Bruce couldn’t help but wonder who it was, there were not many that would be willing to work with someone like Ra’s, or even the league for that matter. And by the sound of it the people were located in Gotham, apparently people that had a need for his son. 

“You should know detective, though your encounter with my associated has been limited I don’t believe you have forgotten them.” Something in Ra’s tone told Bruce he wouldn’t like who it was. The more he thought about it the more confused he became. Who would be willing to work with Ra’s Al Ghul, especially someone from Gotham. Beside him Jason stiffened, he looked at Ra’s with a knowing look, one that also held fear. 

“It’s the c-” Before he could finish the windows around them shattered. Pieces of glass rained down on them, except Ra’s who took a step back to avoid it. Jason grimaced as an especially large piece lodged itself in his hand. 

Before them stood three people, two wore black suits that looked as if they were made for battle, and another stood in the middle wearing a suit that only someone with a lot of money could afford. All of them wore masks that looked like owls. 

“Its seems, my boy, you’ve figured it out a bit too late.” Ra’s nodded his head at the newcomer in greeting. They didn’t make a move to do it back but the Demons Head didn’t really seem to mind as he was already focusing his attention back on the captives. 

“Now we might want to do this quickly, It seems that Richard will wake soon.” Bruce mentally hit himself. Of course, he hadn’t thought of Dick, or any of the others for that matter. Damian, Stephanie, Kate, and Cassandra should have returned by now. Had the court gotten to them.

“There’s no need to worry about my grandson or anyone with him. They should be chasing down one of your rouges ‘Scarecrow’ I believe you call him. The court was nice enough to offer him an updated version of his toxin. It should do well with keeping us alone for now.” Ra’s answered his unspoken question with a wave of his hand. He moved toward Alfred, who till that point had been trying to quietly untie his hands from where they had been fastened behind his back. 

Beside him Jason tensed ready to spring on Ra’s if he hurt the butler. But all that happened was Alfred gaining a quick prick to the neck and immediately passing out. Ra’s caught him before placing him gently on the couch, and for once Bruce was actually happy they were fighting someone who had some semblance of manners. 

“ Now I believe it’s time we get back to the task at hand.” With a motion of his hand Ra’s led the way out the door, leaving the two Talons to guard them.

“What you’re not gonna tell us your entire evil plan or something!” Jason called after him. He didn’t look back but one of the Talons punched him in the gut. He doubled over coughing, because wow super strength was a bitch. 

Bruce just sighed, already sawing away at his bindings with the Batarang from earlier. He knew it would be hard to take down two Talons, and he could only hope Dick came down for backup when he woke up. Jason finally sat back up, sending a glare at the Talon before making it look like he was still in pain. He slipped a small knife out of his sleeve and began to cut through his own bindings. Bruce saw his progress was going faster and made mental note to ask Jason what type of knife it was later, because the Batarangs in the cave have been needing a new casing.

He started to cut faster too though because he wasn’t about to let Jason fight two Talons alone while he sat there. Though Jason was probably one of his only kids that could take down a Talon without help, besides Cassandra.

Jason was the first to cut away his ropes, but against his own judgement stayed where he was and waited to for Bruce to finish. He does have self preserving thoughts, Bruce smiled a bit. With one last cut he was freed, his mind immediately going into Batman mode. They both shared a look before surging forward, catching their captors by surprise.

The Talons recovered in seconds, not even slightly deterred, and ran at the two. They clashed the Talons claws trying to connect with their throats. Bruce fought with his Talon, trying to find an opening as it continued to try and hit him. He kept dodging out of the way, but still was getting hit. He used the batarang he had and threw it at the Talon, it went straight into its shoulder but didn’t stop it. The assassin came at him again this time with more speed, Bruce was finding it harder and harder to dodge the attacks. 

On the other side of the room Jason was beating on his opponent. He had already gotten hit a few times across his chest, but for the most part he was fine. Out of his pocket Jason brought out the gun he always carries with him, after what happened to Tim he made sure to check if he had enough bullets regularly, even stored some extra in his jacket. The Talon didn’t back away from the gun, instead choosing to rush Jason. A few shots rang out only two of them hitting their mark. Jason's good hand was out of use thanks to the glass currently stuck in it. He realized his wound was making him a target, if he couldn't defend himself properly then how could he defeat them?

Across the room Bruce was knocked down by one of the Talons, instead of going in for another hit it turned and went for Jason. Bruce rolled onto his stomach trying to make his way back to his feet when he noticed the absence of his attacker. His head whipped over to see Jason fighting both Talons and loosing. His hurt hand cradled to his chest. 

Bruce immediately jumped to his feet and ran straight into one of the assassins. It stumbled not falling over, but was kept for a second long enough for Jason to shoot it in the head. It’s body fell to the ground. The other Talon still advanced on both of them, not concerned for its downed comrade. Bruce stood in front of Jason not wanting his son to get even more hurt. 

With out any of them noticing the Talon Jason had shot slowly started to move. While Bruce and Jason exchanged hits with the other assassin it got to its knees. Now Jason was getting Bruce out of a immobilizing hold. The Talon stood. It ran at Bruce, gunshot wound not hindering its speed. Jason was the first to see what was happening, and without time to think, shoved his father out of the way.

“Jason!” A pained cry echoed from the boy, a knife stuck in his side. Bruce caught him just as he was about to hit the floor. Both Talons stood in front of them now. Both still mostly unharmed. Bruce made sure Jason was putting pressure on the wound and placed him on the couch opposite of Alfred.

He was glad the only was to stop the assassins was to kill them, because there was nothing else he wanted to do to the monster that had hurt his son. He stood at the ready, almost willing them to attack. It seemed they would for a moment too until,

“What do we have here?” The sound of footsteps entering the room made both Talons relax their muscles. Through the door came the Owl and Ra’s. In one of the assassins arm was Tim. He wasn’t awake, it was likely they drugged him since he still hadn’t fully recovered. Bruce cursed under his breath. He had been so focused on getting him and Jason out of there alive that he completely forgot about his third son. 

“Try to escape now did we?” Ra’s raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him, but it morphed into a sneer when he saw Jason laying on the couch. 

“Seems another one has gotten hurt.” The owl stepped forward taking Tim from the assassins arms. Bruce tensed ready to take his son back. Ra’s tsked at him, shaking his head, “Now you have a choice here detective. Let us take young Timothy here, where you know we will not harm him, he is still needed for out plans, or come and get him, sacrificing Jason's life in the process. Do you think you could get Timothy and stop Jason from bleeding out in time, because I don’t think you can.” Bruce stood there for a minute thinking it through. Jason's stab wound was deep, he needed stitches as soon as he could get them. If he tried to get Tim then Jason would bleed out. Ra’s would get Tim again, but they wouldn’t kill him. Bruce hated how obvious the choice was, even more when Ra’s gave him a winning smile.

The Owl walked out with Tim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peoples thank you for reading this one, I happen to like it best out of all my chapters so far. I know this one took a while to post but I really didn't know what to do for it. It took sitting on the couch for three hours and listening to music to finally figure it out. : )


	5. News to tell, more to learn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian is displeased and Bruce has a headache

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know its been a while, and that this chapter is really short. Sorry for that, but i've kinda reached a roadblock with this story, I mean i have a plan for it but it's just kinda sitting in front of me and I just can't touch it. I've also become distracted with another fic I was just gonna do for fun, but I might actually just end up posting it. I don't really know where i'm at honestly. So here's an update, even if it is small. Also this is unbeta'd so i'm sorry for any mistakes.

“What happened.” When Damian and the others had gotten back from dealing with Scarecrow they were met with a passed out Alfred, and Bruce trying to stitch a stab wound on Jason. Dick was nowhere in sight and Damian could only guess he was out as well. 

“Ra’s.” His voice was an angry calm, only heard when someone had gone to far and that it would not be looked over. To say it frankly Bruce was pissed. Ra’s probably threatened the family Damian thought. He looked over to Jason, who was now getting his stitches done by Cass. The wound looked bad, so he guessed Ra’s could have used Jason's state as leverage, or maybe he threatened Dick and that’s why he wasn’t there. Damian’s eyes went wide sudden waves of panic rolling off of him,

“Where’s Grayson?” Bruce didn’t answer, not picking up on the panic in his son’s voice. Instead he walked over to Stephanie who had been checking up on Alfred. He put his hand against the butlers neck. His pulse was steady, that was good. He then stalked toward the Batcomputer loading every file they had on the League and The Court of Owls. 

“The Court? How are they involved?” Kate asked, she came to stand next to Bruce, looking over his shoulder at the files. Damian scoffed rolling his eyes at the question.

“Think Kane, if Grandfather still wanted Drake, even after trying to kill him, and the Owls are involved, then what do you think they're doing?” His question was rhetorical but from the looks all three girls were giving him the answer wasn’t clear enough. He opened his mouth to answer for them but Bruce beat him to it, 

“They want to turn him into a talon.” There was a collection of gasps from the three, and one from the now aware Alfred. "From the data I've collected over the years the only way to turn someone into a talon is by killing them and then reanimating the body into a talon, with Tim's intelligence and training there is good reason for the court to want him as one of their own" 

“The court wants who as there own?” The sound of Dick coming down the stairs brought made everyone go quiet. He was holding his head, blood running down his temple. There was a dart sticking out of his neck he had apparently not thought to take out. Alfred ushered him onto a cot in the infirmary while Kate filled him in on what was going on. “THEY GOT TIM?” The Incredulous yell could be heard throughout the cave. 

"Father this still doesn't explain why Grandfather would help them get Drake, does he not want Drake as well?" The question was simple in his eyes, maybe they would share Drake's body? Use him as a double assassin and slave? Bruce grimaced and looked back at his files.

"The court has a strong hold on anything happening in Gotham, that means they could offer Ra's anything he wants, power, money. Control over Crime Alley if he wanted, but neither Ra's nor the Court would ever want to work together, either something big is about to happen, or we've been underestimating them both."

Bruce stood from his chair, now in full Batman mode. He looked over everyone then gestured over to the Batcomputer  
“Everyone who can, suit up. I’ve singled down three out of Fourty locations they could have taken Tim. If were gonna find him, bring him home safe, and prevent whatever the League or Court's planning, then we need to get them when their distracted.” His commands rushed everyone into action. Orphan and Spoiler were to check the abandoned sewage pipes in the Bowery. Nightwing and Batwoman were going down to the fashion district to see if the Scarecrow attack was near their base. Batman and Robin were going to the upper-side of Gotham. 

“Why do we have to go through sewage while you and short stack over there get to see the finer living?!?”

" -tt- You think we can trust you in such an area Brown?"


	6. Near and Far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is an idiot, Jason knows what he's doing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyy its me again with some mindless notes that you probably won't read.  
> So this story should be finishing up in two or three more chapters. I'm thinking about going back and rewriting some, leaving the plot and everything but just making it sound better. I may not like it just because I wrote it though so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> TW for swearing but you probably already guessed that, what you didn't guess that most of it is Tim's instead of Jason's.

Pain is what woke Tim. It wasn’t ‘I’m going to die’ pain, more like ‘Oww was I lightly stabbed’ pain, to Tim the difference meant the world. He opened his eyes expecting the walls of the cave infirmary, maybe a brooding bat sitting hovering over him. What he did not expect was complete darkness and a table that looked like it had seen better days, less bloodier ones too. His eyes opened wider noticing the only light was above him, and why would someone do that? Can they even see? He sure couldn’t. 

The shadows moving behind him made him rethink his idea of complete darkness. Or maybe they were just people wearing clothes darker than black. Was that a thing, he’s pretty sure it was. Might’ve been called Blackie Black or something like that. One of the shadows came closer and he saw the glint of a golden mask, one that looked unmistakably like an owl.

Wait, that might be a bad thing.

A talon in all its dark and gold glory stepped into the light. It had no weapons on it, only a small syringe filled with something that looked startlingly similar to arsenic. It turned, waiting on something, or _someone_ , Tim realized. Two more shadow stepped into the light. One wearing a white mask that resembled and owl, _great the court really is involved_ , and the one man Tim wished he never had to see again. 

_Fuckfuckfuckfuck. This is really bad._

“How nice of you to join us Detective.”

“My pleasure.”

The white masked owl stepped forward motioning for the Talon to move with her. And it was a her, Tim wondered what the policy for getting leadership in the court was, he knew for sure that Ra’s didn’t want the league to become a matriarchy. Maybe it’s decided by who’s richest? The court seemed to thrive off of the higher ups of Gotham. There were suddenly hands on his chest, one pushing him down while another swabbed his collarbone preparing for some kind of injection.

_Ohhh right I should probably be struggling._

“It’s a pity you know. A young boy such as you having to die this way. But in the end it’s all worth it.” There was something in Ra’s eyes that told him there was some untruth in what he said. Like him dying meant- 

_Wait fuck. Dying. That’s not okay._

His struggling became even harder now, because no one, and I repeat no one ever mentioned that he was getting killed. He’d sign up for his funeral any day but he had his suspicions that he wouldn't be dead for a long time. And oh shit was he gonna start making death jokes like Jason. The last thing he needed was to have something in common with a guy who’s tried to kill him before, even if he had already forgiven him.

_Shit I keep spacing out_

There was a pinch of a needle then pain pain pain. Tim recognized the effects of arsenic as soon as it entered his system. Maybe there was a reason they kept him loopy, if he’d know that it was arsenic he probably would’ve already gotten the hell out of dodge. 

“How long will this take?”

“Depending on the boys resistance it could take two minutes, or it could take two days.” The owls voice was monotone showing that she didn't care either way. Both of them stayed there anyway, watching his body consolve for a while before leaving him alone. Alone in a dark room, with that one stupid fucking light shining so fucking _bright_ , right over his eyes.

White hot flashes of pain made his breath come out slow then fast in antagonizing moments of pain pain pain pain pain. He was gonna die. 

Well, about to die, for his part he had pretty good immunity to the stuff, Bat training and all that, so he was confident he could escape before he died. Escaping would be hard though, breaking through leather bonds while having a seizure at the same time was a pretty difficult task. 

* * *

Batman crept inside the Orchard, “home of the worthy” is what the rich called it, only few knew its true purpose. Robin was right next to him more silent than he expected. Usually Damian would be complaining about how ‘Drake was weak’ and ‘he should be able to escape himself’. Maybe his son was actually worried about his brother for once. He remembered Damian acting strange when Tim had first gone missing. 

“Why must we come here father? Surely there are other places that they could hold Drake in.... not somewhere like this.” His son was staring at the fancy drapery with disdain. Bruce didn’t answer too focused on prying open the elevator doors in front of him. Damian reached out to help him using what strength he had to finally get the doors to budge. Bruce stayed silent as he grappled down the shaft. He watched the levels drop, and keep dropping. The end came at sub level 32, where he knew Tim would be. Of course he hadn’t told anyone that. The doors were opened without pause this time, both eager to see the other side. They were met with dark walls and marble hallways. “You knew this was here? Why send the others away?” 

“We can’t be sure that Red Robin is really here.” A lie.

Red flickered in Damians eyes, thankfully covered up by his mask. Bruce watched his youngest turn and stalk down the hallway, weaving through marble pillars and stone owls adorning the room. Of course Damian knew him better than that, the kid could pick out a lie even if it was meant to be true.

Bruce quickly followed after him, making sure to look at the camera in the corner. The owls had to know he was watching. 

If they were watching then he was too. 

* * *

“God freaking dang it” Dick ran across the rooftops Kate hot on his heels. They’d known Jason was a stubborn ass, but really? Breaking out of the cave less than two hours after being almost critically injured. How was he even walking? 

“You curse like a twelve year old.”

“Some of us need to keep it PG.” He didn’t mind the banter, all the Bat kids had the unspoken talent for only being able to multitask when one of the tasks was making fun of someone else. Which was probably a spoken rule because it was literally a spoken thing but he didn’t really have the time to go into the linguistics of being rude to your siblings.

They both grappled across the next building gap, Nightwing noticed the buildings were becoming more spread apart, they were heading upper east towards where B and Robin were.

Kate noticed it too, “Why the hell is Hood coming up here? Doesn't he know Batman and the demon spawn are already up this way?”

“He definitely knows, which means he wanted us to follow him.” He said bringing his hand to his ear and tuning in to Jason frequency. Count on the big bad Red Hood to run around Gotham with a stab wound and no gear, but bring his goddamn helmet.

“Heya Goldie what brings you to this side of the conversation.” Dick could hear the pain in his brothers voice. His bandages were no doubt stained red again. Good thing he packed an extra med kit into his suit. Dick suspected Alfred wouldn't be getting his patient back for a while. 

“Nothing much, just a lunatic running around is all. You wouldn’t happen to know where he’s going? I was thinking to the Orchard building but y’know it could always be _back to the cave_.”

“Nice try ‘Wing but there’s no way I’m going back, not when all you airheads have forgotten everything we know about Bruce.” It was Kate’s turn to pipe up,

“What do you mean by that Hood? You think Bruce lied to us and sent everyone off on wild goose chases so he could get a hit out on Ra’s first?”

“Good fucking guess Red, so now we have one less airhead on the team. Goldie, radio Steph and Cass, I’ve gotta feeling they’ll be mad if they’re left out of the kick-Ra’s-ass party.”

“Got that Little Wing, sibling meeting on top of WE?”

“On it.”


End file.
